Steffen Peters and Ravel will not defend the Rolex FEI World Cup title they won this year in Las Vegas, Nev., according to Dressage-News.com.
After discussions with Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, owners of the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Peters told Dressage-News he won’t attend the FEI World Cup Final in ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands next year.
Instead, Peters will focus on the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky., Sept. 25-Oct. 10.
Yamazaki cited Ravel’s welfare as the reason behind the decision.
Since there are no World Cup qualifiers on the West Coast this year, and the reigning champion must compete in two qualifiers to go to the Final, it was simply going to be too much travel for Ravel, who is based in San Diego, Calif.
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Yamazaki accepted the Adequan/U.S. Dressage Federation Grand Prix Horse of the Year award for Ravel, who finished the year with an average of 75.57 percent at Grand Prix and a freestyle average of 78.85 percent. Peters and Ravel also swept the dressage at the Aachen CDIO in Germany, an achievement never performed by a U.S. rider before.
The schedule they have set for 2010 includes:
- Exquis World Dressage Masters, Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 4-6;
- U.S. WEG Selection Trials at Gladstone, N.J., July 1-15.
